Why did southern landowners develop the convict-leasing system

The correct answer is B. They needed a new form of cheap labor once slavery was outlawed.  

Explanation: In convict leasing, Southern states and counties would lease convicts to commercials enterprises to generate revenue. This system offered cheap labor for local farms, lumber camps, factories, and railroads.

States began to lease convict labor to the plantations and other facilities seeking labor, as the freedmen were trying to withdraw and work for themselves.

is that lennie, a man with a mental disability, is treated poorly due to his mental disability